Pilgrimage for Earth: From Loss to Hope

June 26-29, 2014

St. James Episcopal Church, Woodstock, VT

Church of the Woods, Canterbury, NH

Episcopal Dioceses of New Hampshire & Vermont

Welcome & Thank you

Welcome! To a sacred journey of loss and hope for Earth, humankind, and all of Creation. As we become Pilgrims for Earth, we invite you to join in experiencing the whole world as a bearer of the sacred, and in bearing witness to our own capacity to both destroy and create sacredness. On Pilgrimage, we will offer ourselves as a living sacrifice, opening our hearts, bodies, and minds to being transformed by God through by these places, each other, and the rituals we experience. At the end of the journey, we expect to return to as new people to take up the resurrecting work of healing the world, thereby enacting transformation as well as advocating for it. Welcome, Pilgrim, to this sacred (and experimental!) journey. We are grateful for your company. Thank you! To all our supporters, workers, helpers, and friends. We are grateful for the many people who have made this pilgrimage possible, and in particular to: the Episcopal Dioceses of Vermont and New Hampshire, our bishops +Tom and +Rob, the many people in both dioceses who have been generous with their time and wisdom, and the following funds and groups: The Vermont Alleluia Fund and Stirrings of the Spirit, the Vermont McClure Discovery Grant Program, St. James Liturgy Festival Fund, and the Diocese of NH Mission Resources Fund. We give thanks to:

ñ The Rev. Dr. Thomas Troeger, Professor of Christian Communication, Yale Divinity School. ñ Province I of the Episcopal Church. ñ Earth Stewards Committee of the Diocese of VT. ñ New England Regional Environmental Ministries. ñ St. Barnabas Episcopal Church, Norwich VT. ñ Mission Farm & Church of our Saviour, Killington VT. ñ St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Hanover NH. ñ Canterbury Singers & Choirs of St. James & St. Thomas & St. Barnabas. ñ Program leaders, particularly Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Mark Kutolowski, Sherry Osborn, and

Stephanie Johnson. ñ Musicians Dr. Robert Duff, Peter Beardsley, Lindsey Warren, Oliver Goodenough, Lisa Willems,

Steven Eubanks, Sayon Camara, Joseph Carringer, Samantha Glazier, Gunnar Urang. ñ Cassie Horner, Laura Simoes, Kathleen Moore, and Kelly Short for helping us tell the story. ñ All the others whose help has been instrumental and whom we have neglected to thank.

Finally, to the people of St. James Episcopal Church, Woodstock, VT, who have made this effort their 2014 Liturgy Festival, and inspired its evolution into Pilgrimage for Earth as their buildings are renovated to be more Earth-friendly, to all those whose support has helped the dream of Church of the Woods become a reality, and to our colleagues Chelsea Steinauer-Scudder and Sari Cutter White. Thank you! The Rev. Norman MacLeod & The Rev. Stephen Blackmer

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Maps & Directions

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Pilgrimage Schedule

THURSDAY, June 26Church of the Woods - 96 Foster Road, Canterbury, NH (Parking and Call to Pilgrimage

located at Church of the Woods “Annex” - 322 Hackleboro Road, Canterbury NH)

4:00 pm Arrival and Parking

4:15 pm Canterbury Singers welcome Pilgrims with song

4:30 pm Call to Pilgrimage

4:35 pm Procession - walking in silence to Church of the Woods

4:45 pm Arrival at Church of the Woods

5:00 pm Homily and singing

5:15 - 6:00 pm Acts of Healing the Earth - Tree planting & Wetland restoration

6:00 - 6:15 pm Foot Washing - Pilgrims water trees; wash themselves and each other

6:30 pm Gather under tent for Holy Eucharist and supper

7:45 pm Closing prayer and singing

FRIDAY, June 27Seven Last Words Ledyard Bridge linking Hanover NH and Norwich VT (parking in lots on both sides of

the river)

4:00 - 4:30 pm Gathering

4:30 - 5:30 pm Meditations on the Seven Last Words

5:30 - 8:30 pm Unscheduled time

Tenebrae St. Barnabas Church, Norwich VT

8:30 pm Service of Tenebrae (Begin at Sunset)

9:30 pm Closing

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SATURDAY, June 28365 Mission Farm Rd, Killington, VT 05751

9:30 - 10:00 am Gathering at Mission Farm

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Awakening to our oneness with nature and God

12:00 - 1:00 pm Brown bag lunch in silence - mindful eating in communion with Earth

1:00 - 4:00 pm Crucifixion and the breaking of body, world, and heart

Lament, accompanied by sacred music

Silent Reflection: “...unless a seed falls into the earth and dies…”

4:00 - 5:30 pm Call to Action: “...but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

6:00 pm Dinner

7:30 - 9:00 pm Easter Vigil

SUNDAY, June 29St. Thomas Episcopal Church, 9 W. Wheelock St., Hanover NH

10:00 am - 12:00 pm Easter!

 

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Thursday - Loving and Serving Earth

About the liturgy of Maundy ThursdayIn the cycle of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday is a remembrance of Jesus’ instruction in the Gospel of John to “love one another as I have loved you.” (“Maundy” means a commandment or “mandatory” action, and is from the first word of the Latin version - Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos.) As we begin our Pilgrimage, we interpret this as an instruction to love and serve Earth as well as people. Maundy Thursday also recalls the institution of the Eucharist or Last Supper and Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. In our Pilgrimage, we are holding in our minds and hearts that our very lives are dependent upon communion with Earth as we take her life into our bodies. At the same time, we recall that we all are Judas - complicit in the betrayal of God’s gifts through our destruction and desecration of Earth, even as we are called to love and serve. At Church of the Woods, we are planting trees and cleaning wetlands damaged by poor logging as concrete acts of service, healing, and love - as a washing of Earth’s feet. The Shaker motto, “Hands to work, Hearts to God,” beautifully expresses this intention. Gathering - Canterbury Singers welcome Pilgrims with song Call to Pilgrimage Taize chant (to “O Lord, Hear my Prayer,” Jacques Berthier, Taize community) O Lord, may your earth, O Lord may your earth, heal and thrive, heal and thrive. O Lord, may your earth, O Lord may your earth, be restored and made whole. TogetherWe are pilgrims in the name of the Word, through whom all things came into being and without whom not one thing came into being. We are pilgrims in the name of the one in whom all things in the heavens and here on planet earth were created, things visible and invisible. We are pilgrims in the name of the cosmic Christ, the one in whom all things hold together. Procession as Pilgrims - We walk ¼ mile in silent reflection to Church of the Woods Homily - “Wind, Breath, Mud Creatures” Rev. Dr. Thomas Troeger

Call to Healing and Service, in song

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“As Trees that Withstand the Wind’s Shaking” Thomas Troeger

As trees that withstand the wind’s shaking, their roots grown too deep to be loosened, plant us deep, O God, in your way, truth and life. (All together, to the tune of the Celtic Alleluia) Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia! As trees that bear fruit in due season, supplying a feast for your creatures, let our faith bear fruit in our prayer, work and play. Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia! As trees that are planted by water that nurtures the highest green branches let us draw, O God, from your pure flowing streams. Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia! As trees that shall bloom in the desert refreshing the land that was barren, let your love take root where there’s doubt, fear and grief. Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia! Tree planting and Wetland restoration Call Back Together with song Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia! As trees that give us coolness in summer and soften the blast of the winter, be our shade and shield from the sun, rain and storm. Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia! As trees in a gale give their witness, your Spirit is not ours to master, let us move and dance to your wind, will and power. Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia!

 

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As trees may be grafted with branches, implant us by faith in your Spirit, make us one with you and your son Jesus Christ. Alleluia, alleluia! Alleluia, alleluia!

Foot Washing and Tree WateringA reading from John (13:1-15)

Before the Festival of Passover, Jesus knew that his time had come to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them fully. Jesus and his disciples were sharing the evening meal. The devil had already provoked Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God. So he got up from the table and took off his robes. Picking up a linen towel, he tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a washbasin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he was wearing. When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus replied, “You don’t understand what I’m doing now, but you will understand later.”

“No!” Peter said. “You will never wash my feet!”

Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you won’t have a place with me.”

Simon Peter said, “Lord, not only my feet but also my hands and my head!”

Jesus responded, “Those who have bathed need only to have their feet washed, because they are completely clean. You disciples are clean, but not every one of you.” He knew who would betray him. That’s why he said, “Not every one of you is clean.”

After he washed the disciples’ feet, he put on his robes and returned to his place at the table. He said to them, “Do you know what I’ve done for you? You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and you speak correctly, because I am. If I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you too must wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example: Just as I have done, you also must do.

As we sing, we will clean and wash each other, the trees and earth, and ourselves.

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Hymn 602 - “Jesu, Jesu”

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Gathering under the TentA Call to Thanksgiving The Right Reverend Tom Ely, Bishop of Vermont, presiding

Opening Prayer The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray.

God, maker of marvels, you weave the planet and all its creatures together in kinship. Your unifying love is revealed through interdependence and relatedness in the complex world that you have made. Save us from the illusion that humankind is separate and alone, and join us in your communion with all the universe, through Christ Jesus who cannot be contained by dividing walls and who, in the power of your Holy Spirit, lives and reigns forever and ever. Amen.

The LessonsA reading from Genesis (1:1-13) When God began to create the heavens and the earth, the earth was without shape or form, it was dark over the deep sea, and God’s wind swept over the waters. God said, “Let there be light.” And so light appeared. God saw how good the light was. God separated the light from the darkness. God named the light Day and the darkness Night. There was evening and there was morning: the first day. God said, “Let there be a dome in the middle of the waters to separate the waters from each other.” God made the dome and separated the waters under the dome from the waters above the dome. And it happened in that way. God named the dome Sky. There was evening and there was morning: the second day. God said, “Let the waters under the sky come together into one place so that the dry land can appear.” And that’s what happened. God named the dry land Earth, and he named the gathered waters Seas. God saw how good it was. God said, “Let the earth grow plant life: plants yielding seeds and fruit trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind throughout the earth.” And that’s what happened. The earth produced plant life: plants yielding seeds, each according to its kind, and trees bearing fruit with seeds inside it, each according to its kind. God saw how good it was.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. Thanks be to God.

Psalm 148 in unison, with gusto Praise the LORD! Praise the LORD from heaven! Praise God on the heights! Praise God, all of you who are his messengers! Praise God, all of you who comprise his heavenly forces! Sun and moon, praise God! All of you bright stars, praise God! You highest heaven, praise God! Do the same, you waters that are above the sky! Let all of these praise the LORD’s name because God gave the command and they were created! God set them in place always and forever. God made a law that will not be broken. Praise the LORD from the earth, you sea monsters and all you ocean depths! Do the same, fire and hail, snow and smoke, stormy wind that does what God says! Do the same, you mountains, every single hill, fruit trees, and every single cedar! Do the same, you animals—wild or tame— you creatures that creep along and you birds that fly! Do the same, you kings of the earth and every single person, you princes and every single ruler on earth! Do the same, you young men—young women too!— you who are old together with you who are young! Let all of these praise the LORD’s name because only God’s name is high over all. Only God’s majesty is over earth and heaven. God raised the strength of his people, the praise of all his faithful ones— that’s the Israelites, the people who are close to him. Praise the LORD!

A reading from Revelation (22:1-2) Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, shining like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb through the middle of the city’s main street. On each side of the river is the tree of life, which produces twelve crops of fruit, bearing its fruit each month. The tree’s leaves are for the healing of the nations.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to God’s people. Thanks be to God.

The Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, according to John:

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Glory to you, Lord Christ.

“He knew who would betray him.”

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Christ.

Welcome and Brief Reflection - “We are all Judas”

The Rev. Stephen Blackmer

Prayers for Renewal and Healing - offered silently or aloud as you are moved

The Peace - offering one another a sign of Christ’s peace and love

Offerings - We bring offerings from the Earth to the table. Your offerings to support the creation and ministry of Church of the Woods would be most gratefully received.

Hymn 400 - “All Creatures of our God and King”

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Eucharistic Prayer for Creation The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give God thanks and praise. God of all power, Ruler of the Universe, you are worthy of glory and praise. Glory to you for ever and ever. At your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and this beautiful Earth, our island home. By your will they were created and have their being. From the primal elements you brought forth the human race, and blessed us with memory, reason, and skill. You gave us power over creation. But we turned against you, and betrayed your trust; and we turned against one another.Have mercy, Lord, for we are destroying what you have given us. Again and again, you called us to return. Through prophets and sages you revealed your Law of rightness. And in the fullness of time you sent your only Son, born of a woman, to fulfill your Law, to open for us the way of freedom and peace. By his blood, he reconciled us. By his wounds, we are healed. And therefore we praise you, joining with the heavenly chorus, with all those in every generation, and with all Creation who have looked to you in hope, to proclaim with them your glory, in their unending hymn: Leader and People Holy, Holy, Holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory. Hosanna in the highest. Blessed is the One who comes in the name of the Lord. Hosanna in the highest. The leader continues And so, Father, we who have been redeemed by him, and made a new people by water and the Spirit, now bring before you these gifts. Sanctify them by your Holy Spirit to be the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ our Lord. On the night he was betrayed he took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread, and gave it to his friends, and said, “Take, eat: This is my Body, which is given for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” After supper, he took the cup of wine, gave thanks, and said, “Drink this, all of you: This is my Blood of the new Covenant, which is shed for you and for many for the forgiveness of sins. Whenever you drink it, do this for the remembrance of me.” Remembering now his work of redemption, and offering to you this sacrifice of thanksgiving, We celebrate his death and resurrection, as we await the day of his coming.

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Lord God of our Fathers and Mothers and of all the Universe: Open our eyes to see your hand at work in the world about us. Let the grace of this Holy Communion make us one body, one spirit in Christ, that we may worthily serve the whole World in his name. Risen Lord, be known to us in the breaking of the Bread. Accept these prayers and praises, O Holy One, through Jesus Christ our great High Priest, to whom, with you and the Holy Spirit, your Church gives honor, glory, and worship, from generation to generation. Amen. As Jesus has taught us, we now pray, God in heaven, hallowed be your Name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us. Save us from the time of trial, and deliver us from evil. For the kingdom, the power, and the glory are yours, now and forever. Amen This is the Bread of Life and the Cup of Healing. Take them in remembrance that new life springs up even in the darkest hour. Passing “The Bread of Life” & “The Cup of Healing.” Bread and wine will be consecrated at the altar and distributed to tables. Supper - continuing the Eucharist (a blessing to be said by a volunteer at each table) Post-communion Prayer Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front, by Wendell BerryLove the quick profit, the annual raise, vacation with pay. Want more of everything ready-made. Be afraid to know your neighbors and to die.And you will have a window in your head. Not even your future will be a mystery any more. Your mind will be punched in a card and shut away in a little drawer.When they want you to buy something they will call you. When they want you to die for profit they will let you know.So, friends, every day do something that won’t compute. Love the Lord.Love the world. Work for nothing. Take all that you have and be poor. Love someone who does not deserve it.Denounce the government and embrace the flag. Hope to live in that free republic for which it stands.Give your approval to all you cannot understand. Praise ignorance, for what man has not encountered he has not destroyed. Ask the questions that have no answers.Invest in the millennium. Plant sequoias. Say that your main crop is the forest that you did not plant, (continues, next page)

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that you will not live to harvest. Say that the leaves are harvested when they have rotted into the mold. Call that profit. Prophesy such returns.Put your faith in the two inches of humus that will build under the trees every thousand years.Listen to carrion — put your ear close, and hear the faint chattering of the songs that are to come.Expect the end of the world. Laugh. Laughter is immeasurable. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts.So long as women do not go cheap for power, please women more than men. Ask yourself: Will this satisfy a woman satisfied to bear a child? Will this disturb the sleep of a woman near to giving birth? Go with your love to the fields. Lie easy in the shade. Rest your head in her lap. Swear allegiance to what is nighest your thoughts. As soon as the generals and the politicos can predict the motions of your mind, lose it. Leave it as a sign to mark the false trail, the way you didn’t go. Be like the fox who makes more tracks than necessary, some in the wrong direction.Practice resurrection. Blessing Closing Hymns

 

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Hymn 43 - “All Praise to Thee, My God, This Night”

Hymn 439 - “What Wondrous Love is This”

Sending Forth to Heal the World

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Friday - The Breaking of the Body of Life

About the liturgy of the Seven Last Words: On October 20, 1687, a powerful earthquake, followed by a tsunami, devastated the city of Lima, Peru, killing about 5,000 people. On March 28 - Good Friday - of 1688, while the city continued to mourn and rebuild, Jesuit priest Alonso Messia Bedoya created a liturgical response to this horrific event, based on seven of Jesus’ sayings from the cross, as found in the Gospels. He combined meditations on these “Words” with the traditional three-hour Good Friday vigil. A century later, the archbishop of Cadiz, Spain, commissioned Franz Josef Haydn to compose music to follow each of these meditations. This combination of scripture, spoken meditation, and musical response continues to this day in churches all over the world as the three-hour service of Meditations on the Seven Last Words. As the Pilgrimage for Earth marks this “Good Friday” time in our journey together, we mourn for the devastation caused to Earth by human hands. Thomas Troeger’s meditations and musical responses reflect on Earth’s suffering through the lens of the last words of Christ.

Gathering in Music - Bagpipes and African drum (on the Vermont side of the river)

Steven Eubanks, Sayon Camara Together We are pilgrims in the name of the Word, through whom all things came into being and without whom not one thing came into being. We are pilgrims in the name of the one in whom all things in the heavens and here on planet earth were created, things visible and invisible. We are pilgrims in the name of the cosmic Christ, the one in whom all things hold together, the one who spoke seven last words, the one whose sad and pained voice we hear through the cries of planet Earth. Taize chant (to “O Lord, Hear my Prayer,” Jacques Berthier, Taize community) O Lord, may your earth, O Lord may your earth, heal and thrive, heal and thrive. O Lord, may your earth, O Lord may your earth, be restored and made whole.

Meditations on the Seven Last Words of Christ for the EarthRev. Dr. Thomas Troeger

First Word“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” Luke 23: 34 The crisis of planet earth is a “geologically instantaneous ecological catastrophe too gradual to be perceived by the people who unleashed it.” - John Alroy

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Meditation Instrumental lament - African drum Silence Prayer Mysterious God, whose imagination and desire embrace all: We seek to discern you in the interplay of forces, in the order and the chaos of the universe, and in the complexities of every living system. Give us grace to honor your goodness in what we know and in what we do not know, in the world’s harmonies and turbulence, and in its promise and change. For you are in, through, and beyond all that is: one God, made known to us in Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, our inspiration and guide. Amen.

Second Word“Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Luke 23: 43 “Over the course of four billion years, molten rocks transformed themselves into monarch butterflies, blue herons, and the exalted music of Mozart. Ignorant of this stupendous process, we fell into the fantasy that our role was to re-engineer inert matter.” - Brian Swimme and Mary Evelyn Tucker Meditation

Excerpts from Mozart’s Adagio for flute Thomas Troeger Prayer Author of creation: In wisdom you brought forth all that is, to participate in your divine being, and to change, adapt, and grow in freedom. You make holy the matter and energy of the universe that it may delight you and give you praise. We thank you for gathering all creation into your heart by the energy of your Spirit and bringing it through death to resurrection glory; through the One in whom all things have their being, Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Third Word“When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple: ‘Here is your mother.’” John 19: 26-27 “If God has desired to become a member of that community, humans themselves should be willing to accept their status as members of that same Earth community.” - Thomas Berry Meditation

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Bagpipes Silence Prayer God, maker of marvels, you weave the planet and all its creatures together in kinship; your unifying love is revealed in the interdependence of relationships in the complex world that you have made. Save us from the illusion that humankind is separate and alone, and join us in communion with all inhabitants of the universe; through Jesus Christ, our Redeemer, who topples the dividing walls by the power of your Holy Spirit, and who lives and reigns with you, for ever and ever. Amen.

Fourth Word“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27: 46 “We burn the world to live; Our living blights the leaf.” - Wendell Berry, A Timbered Choir Meditation Taize Chant (to “O Lord, Hear my Prayer,” Jacques Berthier, Taize community) Help us, Lord, to touch the earth with tenderness. Help us, Lord, to touch the earth with tenderness. Silence Prayer Holy God, your mercy is over all your works, and in the web of life each creature has its role and place. We praise you for ocelot and owl, cactus and kelp, lichen and whale; we honor you for whirlwind and lava, tide and topsoil, cliff and marsh. Give us hearts and minds eager to care for your planet, humility to recognize all creatures as your beloved ones, justice to share the resources of the earth with all its inhabitants, and love not limited by our ignorance. This we pray in the name of Jesus, who unifies what is far off and what is near, and in whom, by grace and the working of your Holy Spirit, all things hold together. Amen. Bagpipes and African drum Following the piper, our feet touching the earth with tenderness, we walk toward the bridge, stopping on the terrace.

Fifth Word“I thirst.” John 19: 28 “Every day, every American in effect pumps seven pounds of carbon into the sea” so that “oceans are now thirty percent more acidic than they were in 1800.” - Elizabeth Kolbert

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Meditation The Pouring of Water Into the River Prayer We thank you, Almighty God, for the gift of water. Over it the Holy Spirit moved in the beginning of creation. Through it you led the children of Israel out of their bondage in Egypt into the land of promise. In it your Son Jesus received the baptism of John and was anointed by the Holy Spirit as the Messiah, the Christ, to lead us, through his death and resurrection, from the bondage of sin into everlasting life. We thank you, Father for the water of Baptism. In it we are buried with Christ in his death. By it we share in his resurrection. Through it we are reborn by the Holy Spirit. We thank you God that you satisfy our thirst. Through your wisdom and healing power, help us to protect the waters of your Earth. Help us to preserve this river, and all rivers, streams, lakes and seas, that they will be as you intend, living water. Amen.

Sixth Word“It is finished.” John 19:30 “While we have recognized the inseparable nature of communion of God with the human community, we have not yet realized that this communion, to be perfect, must include communion with Earth.” - Thomas Berry Meditation Bagpipes and African drum Procession following the piper under the bridge.

Seventh Word“Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.” Luke 23: 46 “In pushing other species to extinction, humanity is busy sawing off the limb on which it perches.” - Paul Ehrlich Meditation Bagpipes and African drum Benediction Bountiful God, you call us to labor with you in tending the earth: Where we lack love, open our hearts to the world; where we waste, give us discipline to conserve; where we neglect, awaken our minds and wills to insight and care. May we in all things honor and serve you alongside all your creatures, for you live and reign with Christ, Redeemer of all, and with your Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. Passing the Peace

Depart

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Friday Evening - TenebraeAbout the liturgy of Tenebrae: The service of Tenebrae (the Latin word for “shadows”) forms a part of the observance of Holy Week in several Christian traditions. Marked by the chanting of psalms, various readings, and the gradual extinguishing of candles, Tenebrae prepares participants for the events of Christ’s Passion - his suffering and death. Inspired by this ancient liturgy, the Pilgrimage for Earth observance will consist of some traditional Tenebrae psalms and brief responsories, or anthems. Composed by Lodovico Viadana (ca. 1560-1627), these choral pieces offer lament for Jesus’ betrayal and suffering. Inspired by the Anglican psalm chants and the Viadana Latin lyrics, the choirs of St. James and St. Barnabas will introduce in English and Latin, a Litany of the Extinct, as the service moves from light to darkness, seeing the death of species as the crucifixion of Christ. Instead of the traditional readings, the service will employ poems by the writer, farmer and activist, Wendell Berry from his collection, A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems 1979-1997.

Gathering Prayer Together We are pilgrims in the name of the Word, through whom all things came into being and without whom not one thing came into being. We are pilgrims in the name of the one in whom all things in the heavens and here on planet earth were created, things visible and invisible. We are pilgrims in the name of the cosmic Christ, the one in whom all things hold together. Psalm 69:1-23 chanted by choir Antiphon: Zeal for your house has eaten me up; * the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me. 1 Save me, O God, * for the waters have risen up to my neck. 2 I am sinking in deep mire, * and there is no firm ground for my feet. 3 I have come into deep waters, * and the torrent washes over me. 4 I have grown weary with my crying; my throat is inflamed; * my eyes have failed from looking for my God. 5 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head; my lying foes who would destroy me are mighty. * Must I then give back what I never stole?

 

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6 O God, you know my foolishness, * and my faults are not hidden from you. 7 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me, Lord GOD of hosts; * let not those who seek you be disgraced because of me, O God of Israel. 8 Surely, for your sake have I suffered reproach, * and shame has covered my face. 9 I have become a stranger to my own kindred, * an alien to my mother’s children. 10 Zeal for your house has eaten me up; * the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me. Antiphon: Zeal for your house has eaten me up; * the scorn of those who scorn you has fallen upon me. Silence Psalm 74 chanted by all Antiphon: Arise, O God, maintain my cause. 1 O God, why have you utterly cast us off ? * why is your wrath so hot against the sheep of your pasture? 2 Remember your congregation that you purchased long ago, * the tribe you redeemed to be your inheritance, and Mount Zion where you dwell. 3 Turn your steps toward the endless ruins; * the enemy has laid waste everything in your sanctuary. 4 Your adversaries roared in your holy place; * they set up their banners as tokens of victory. 5 They were like men coming up with axes to a grove of trees; * they broke down all your carved work with hatchets and hammers. 6 They set fire to your holy place; * they defiled the dwelling-place of your Name and razed it to the ground. 7 They said to themselves, “Let us destroy them altogether.” * They burned down all the meeting-places of God in the land. 8 There are no signs for us to see; there is no prophet left; * there is not one among us who knows how long. 9 How long, O God, will the adversary scoff ? * will the enemy blaspheme your Name for ever? 10 Why do you draw back your hand? *

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why is your right hand hidden in your bosom? Officiant - Deliver me, my God, from the hand of the wicked: People - From the clutches of the evildoer and the oppressor. All stand for silent prayer. The Reader then goes to the lectern and everyone else sits down. Reading I It is the destruction of the world in our own lives that drives us half insane, and more than half. To destroy that which we were given in trust: how will we bear it? It is our own bodies that we give to be broken, our bodies existing before and after us in clod and cloud, worm and tree, that we, driving or driven, despise in our greed to live, our haste to die. To have lost, wantonly, the ancient forests, the vast grasslands is our madness, the presence in our very bodies of our grief.

- Wendell Berry

Responsory I ViadanaVinea mea electa, ego te plantavi: quomodo conversa es in amaritudinem, ut me crucifigures et Barrabbam dimitteres. O vineyard, my chosen one. I planted thee. How is thy sweetness turned into bitterness, to crucify me and take Barabbas in my place? Silence Litany of the Extinct The choir will chant the names of plants and animals made extinct in the Modern Era New Zealand Storm Petrel, Dutch Alcon Blue Butterfly, Golden Toad Zanzibar Leopard, Madeiran Large White Butterfly, Tecupa Pupfish Pyrenean ibex, Little Blue Macaw, Round Island Burrowing Boa Constrictor Black-faced Honey Creeper, West African Black Rhino, Passenger Pigeon Javan Tiger, Formosan Clouded Leopard, Cape Verde Giant Skink, Sri Lanka Spiny Eel Eskimo Curlew, Northern Darwin’s Frog, Zestos Skipper Butterfly Rockland Grass Skipper Butterfly, Pinta Island Tortoise, Japanese River Otter

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Siamese Crocodile, Ivory-billed Woodpecker, Carolina Parakeet Jumbo herring, Heath Hen, Sea Mink Eastern Elk, Blue Pike, Atlas Bear, Cape Lion Silence Reading II In early morning we awaken from The sound of engines running in the night, And then we start the engines of the day. We speed away into the fading light. Nowhere is any sound but of our going On roads strung everywhere with humming wire. Nowhere is there an end except in smoke. This is the world that we have set on fire. This is the promised burning, darkening Our light of hope and putting out the sun, Blighting the leaf, the stream – and blesséd are The dead who died before this time began. Blesséd the dead who have escaped in time The twisted metal and the fractured stone, The technobodies of the hopeless cure. Now, to the living, only grief has shown The little yellow of the violet Risen again out of the dead year’s leaves, And grief alone is measure of the love That only lives by rising out of graves. - Wendell Berry

Responsory II ViadanaPlange quasi virgo, plebs mea, ululate, pastores, in cinere et cilicio quia veniet dies Domini magna et amara valde. Accingite vos, sacerdotes, et plangite, ministri altaris, aspergite vos cinere. Quia veniet dies Domini magna et amara valde. Weep like a virgin, my people, howl, keepers of the flock, covered with ashes and wearing hair-shirts, for the great and very bitter day of the Lord will come. Prepare yourselves, priests, and lament, acolytes before the altar, cover yourselves with ashes. For the great and very bitter day of the Lord will come. Silence Litany of the Extinct

 

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Acalypha rubrinervis, Anonidium usambarense Byttneria ivorensis, Coffea lemblinii Dryopteris ascensionis, Erythrina schliebenii Heliotropium pannifolium, Nesiota elliptica Oldenlandia adscensionis, Orchidea eupolyanthis Pausinystalia brachythyrsum, Sporobolus durus Trochetiopsis melanoxylon, Astilbe crenatiloba Blutaparon rigidum, Campomanesia lundiana Casearia quinduensis, Chrysophyllum januariense Cnidoscolus fragrans, Flabellidium spinosum Silence Reading III Here by the road where people are carried, with or against their will, as on a river of burning oil through a time already half consumed, how shall we pray to escape the catastrophe that we have not the vision to oppose and have therefore deserved, and that many have desired? Yet here in our moment in the ages of ages amid the icons of fire from the maddened center whirling out, we pray to be delivered from the blaze that we have earned, that many desire. We pray that the continent of love may be shaped within the continent of power, here by the river of fire. We pray for vision, though we die, to see in our small imperfect love the Love of the ages of ages, whose green tree yet stands amid the flames. May we be as a song sung within the tree, though beside us the river of oil flows, burning, and the sky is filled with the whine of desire to burn and be burned in the fire. - Wendell Berry

Responsory III ViadanaEcce vidimus eum habentem speciem, neque decorum: Aspectus ejus in eo non est: Hic peccata nostra portavit, et pro nobis dolet: Ipse autem vulneratus est, propter iniquitates nostras: Cujus livore sanati sumus. Vere languores nostros ipse tulit et Dolores nostros ipse portavit, Cujus livore sanati sumus.

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Lo, we have seen him without beauty or majesty, with no looks to attract our eyes. He bore our sins and grieved for us, He was wounded for our transgressions, and by his scourging we are healed. Silence Litany of the Extinct Cape Warthog, Red Gazelle, Alaotra Grebe Aldabra Brush Warbler, Canary Islands Oyster Catcher, Madeiran Wood Pigeon Seychelles Parakeet, Tristan Moorhen, Auckland Islands Merganser Bush Wren, Chatham Bellbird, Laughing Owl New Zealand Little Bittern, New Zealand Quail, Stephens Island Wren Leafshell, Round combshell, Sampson’s curly mussel, Tennessee riffle shell Harlequin Toad, Yunnan Lake Newt, Ainsworth’s Salamander Australian Torrent Frog, Bali Tiger, Caspian Tiger Upland Moa, Crested Shellduck, Slender-billed Curlew Javan Lapwing, Tahiti Sandpiper, Ascension Night Heron Silence Reading IV Even while I dreamed I prayed that what I saw was only fear

and no foretelling,for I saw the last known landscape destroyed for the sakeof the objective, the soil bulldozed, the rock blasted.Those who had wanted to go home would never get there

now.

I visited the offices where for the sake of the objective theplanners planned

at blank desks set in rows. I visited the loud factories where the machines were made that would drive ever

forwardtoward the objective. I saw the forest reduced to stumps and

gullies; I sawthe poisoned river, the mountain cast into the valley; I came to the city that nobody recognized because it looked

like every other city.I saw the passages worn by the unnumbered footfalls of those whose eyes were fixed upon the objective.

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Their passing had obliterated the graves and themonuments

of those who had died in pursuit of the objective and who had long ago forever been forgotten, according to the invariable rule that those who have forgotten forget that they have forgotten. Men and women and children now

pursued the objectiveas if nobody ever had pursued it before. The races and the sexes now intermingled perfectly in

pursuit of the objective.The once-enslaved, the once-oppressed were now free to sell themselves to the highest bidder and to enter the best-paying prisons in pursuit of the objective, which was the destruction of all

enemies, which was the destruction of all obstacles, which was to clear

the wayto victory, which was to clear the way to promotion, to

salvation, to progress,to the completed sale, to the signature on the contract, which was to clear the way to self-realization, to self-creation, from which nobody who

ever wanted to go homewould ever get there now, for every remembered place had been displaced; the signposts had been bent to the

ground and covered over.

Every place had been displaced, every love unloved, every vow unsworn, every word unmeant to make way for the passage of the crowd of the individuated, the autonomous, the self-actuated,

the homelesswith their many eyes opened only toward the objective which they did not yet perceive in the far distance, having never known where they were going, having never known where they came from. ----------------------------------------------------------- I was wakened from my dream of the ruined world by the sound of rain falling slowly onto the dry earth of my place in time. On the parched garden, the cracked-open pastures, the dusty grape leaves, the brittled grass, the drooping foliage ofthe woods,fell still the quiet rain. - Wendell Berry

Responsory IV ViadanaEram quasi agnus ínnocens : ductus sum ad immolándum, et nesciébam : Consílium fecérunt inimíci mei advérsum me, dicéntes: Veníte, mittámus lignum in panem ejus, et eradámus eum de terra vivéntium. Omnes inimíci mei advérsum me

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cogitábant mala mihi: Verbum iníquum mandavérunt advérsum me, dicéntes: Veníte, mittámus lignum in panem ejus, et eradámus eum de terra vivéntium. Behold, I was like an innocent lamb ; I was led to the sacrifice, and I knew not that mine enemies had devised devices against me, saying : Come let us put poison into his bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living. All mine enemies devised my hurt against me, they plotted together to do me evil, saying. Come let us put poison into his bread, and let us cut him off from the land of the living. Silence Litany of the Extinct Pradosia glaziovii, Pradosia mutisii Psidium dumetorum, Santalum fernandezianum Adiantum lianxianense, Crudia zeylanica Cynometra beddomei, Dipterocarpus cinereus Hopea shingkeng, Ilex gardneriana Madhuca insignis, Ormosia howii Otophora unilocularis, Pluchea glutinosa Psiadia schweinfurthii, Shorea cuspidata Sterculia khasiana, Valerianella affinis Wendlandia angustifolia, Begonia eiromischa Silence Officiant Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: People And by his scourging we are healed. Psalm 90 chanted by choir Antiphon: He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and he opened not his mouth. 1 Lord, you have been our refuge * from one generation to another. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or the land and the earth were born, * from age to age you are God. 3 You turn us back to the dust and say, * “Go back, O child of earth.”

 

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4 For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it is past * and like a watch in the night. 5 You sweep us away like a dream; * we fade away suddenly like the grass. 6 In the morning it is green and flourishes; * in the evening it is dried up and withered. 7 For we consume away in your displeasure; * we are afraid because of your wrathful indignation. 8 Our iniquities you have set before you, * and our secret sins in the light of your countenance. 9 When you are angry, all our days are gone; * we bring our years to an end like a sigh. Antiphon: He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and he opened not his mouth. Silence Psalm 143 chanted by all Antiphon: They shall mourn for him as one mourns an only child; for the Lord who is without sin, is slain. 1 LORD, hear my prayer, and in your faithfulness heed my supplications; * answer me in your righteousness. 2 Enter not into judgment with your servant, * for in your sight shall no one living be justified. 3 For my enemy has sought my life; he has crushed me to the ground; * he has made me live in dark places like those who are long dead. 4 My spirit faints within me; * my heart within me is desolate. 5 I remember the time past; I muse upon all your deeds; * I consider the works of your hands. 6 I spread out my hands to you; * my soul gasps to you like a thirsty land. 7 O LORD, make haste to answer me; my spirit fails me; * do not hide your face from me or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit. 8 Let me hear of your loving-kindness in the morning, for I put my trust in you; *

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show me the road that I must walk, for I lift up my soul to you. 9 Deliver me from my enemies, O LORD, * for I flee to you for refuge. Antiphon: They shall mourn for him as one mourns an only child; for the Lord who is without sin, is slain. Silence During the singing of the following anthem, candles, and other lights in the church, except the candle at the center of the Altar, are extinguished.

Call to Remembrance – Sung by Choir Farrant Call to remembrance, O Lord, thy tender mercies and loving kindness, which have been ever of old. O, remember not the sins and offenses of my youth: but according to thy mercy think thou on me, O Lord, think thou on me, O Lord, for thy goodness. After the anthem, the remaining candle is taken from the Altar and hidden. Silence The following Psalm is sung in monotone by all. Psalm 51 Miserere mei, Deus 1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your loving-kindness; * in your great compassion blot out my offenses. 2 Wash me through and through from my wickedness * and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, * and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against you only have I sinned * and done what is evil in your sight. 5 And so you are justified when you speak * and upright in your judgment. 6 Indeed, I have been wicked from my birth, * a sinner from my mother’s womb. 7 For behold, you look for truth deep within me, * and will make me understand wisdom secretly. 8 Purge me from my sin, and I shall be pure; * wash me, and I shall be clean indeed. 9 Make me hear of joy and gladness, * that the body you have broken may rejoice.

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10 Hide your face from my sins * and blot out all my iniquities. 11 Create in me a clean heart, O God, * and renew a right spirit within me. 12 Cast me not away from your presence * and take not your holy Spirit from me. 13 Give me the joy of your saving help again * and sustain me with your bountiful Spirit. 14 I shall teach your ways to the wicked, * and sinners shall return to you. 15 Deliver me from death, O God, * and my tongue shall sing of your righteousness, O God of my salvation. 16 Open my lips, O Lord, * and my mouth shall proclaim your praise. 17 Had you desired it, I would have offered sacrifice, * but you take no delight in burnt-offerings. 18 The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit; * a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. 19 Be favorable and gracious to Zion, * and rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 20 Then you will be pleased with the appointed sacrifices, with burnt-offerings and oblations; * then shall they offer young bullocks upon your altar. Officiant - Almighty God, we pray you graciously to behold this your Earth family, for whom our Lord Jesus Christ was willing to be betrayed, and given into the hands of sinners, and to suffer death upon the cross. Nothing further is said. A noise is made, and the remaining candle is brought from its hiding place and replaced on the stand. By its light the ministers and people depart in silence.

 

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Saturday - Resting in Grief, Preparing for Renewal

About the liturgy of Holy Saturday: Saturday is the day that Jesus is in the grave. The Gospels tell us nothing of his followers’ state of mind - indeed, there is only one tiny mention of the day in any of the Gospel accounts: “On the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.” (Luke 23:56). In our liturgy today, we will spend a large part of the day resting in stillness and silence as we recall this time of death and quiet mourning. This is a day of asking, “How can we live in a world where we love so much -- and where so much of what we love is dying?” Expecting that many Pilgrims will be able to attend only this one day, the liturgy also serves as a microcosm of the whole Pilgrimage. We will awaken to our love of and connectedness with Earth, allow our hearts to break open in grief and lament, rest in the stillness of the grave, and finally, prepare for renewal and action. As part of the day’s activity, each pilgrim will find a sacred place as a particular spot for both awakening and resting in stillness. To guide you in finding your spot, consider where your body wants to encounter the body of Earth, where, in this time and place, you are called to be in close relationship with Creation and Creator. Pilgrims also will be asked to find - or be found by - a small token from nature to carry as a symbol of the passion of Christ and Earth. Without thought, listen and observe what small piece of the Creation is asking to accompany you on this pilgrimage. (In choosing a token, please be respectful of living and delicate things). Gathering at Mission Farm NB: Church bells will ring at the end of each activity and, 10 minutes later, at the start of the next. At the first bell, please return so we can be gathered together by the second bell. Introduction and Welcome - Church of our Saviour (Bells call the people to prayer) Stephen Blackmer and Norman MacLeod Gathering Prayer Together We are pilgrims in the name of the Word, through whom all things came into being and without whom not one thing came into being. We are pilgrims in the name of the one in whom all things in the heavens and here on planet earth were created, things visible and invisible. We are pilgrims in the name of the cosmic Christ, the one in whom all things hold together. Taize chant (to “O Lord, Hear my Prayer,” Jacques Berthier, Taize community) O Lord, may your earth, O Lord may your earth, heal and thrive, heal and thrive. O Lord, may your earth, O Lord may your earth, be restored and made whole.

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Awakened Heart Setting the Stage - A Framework of the Heart Margaret Bullitt-Jonas (see handout) Guided Meditations and Connecting to Nature Pilgrims will choose from one of four different guided activities, followed by seeking a sacred place (staying long enough to really absorb it), and a token to befriend and carry back. Lunch - Gather in Church of our Saviour (Bells call the people together) Introduction to Mindful Eating with Creation: “This is my body…” Brown bag lunch in silence. (We encourage you stay in the neighborhood of the church to keep a strong sense of community, even as we are not talking with each other). Broken Heart - Church of our Saviour (Bells call the people together) Transition into the time of the crucifixion Margaret Bullitt-Jonas (see handout) Sacred music / Artistic expression Time of Breaking and Lament - Gather outside the church (Bells toll) Waiting in the Ashes Mark Kutolowski and Sherry Osborn Sacred Music – African drum, Bagpipes, and Trumpet Reflection in Silence - “...unless a seed falls into the earth and dies…”Pilgrims return to their sacred places to wait. Radiant Heart - Gather in Church of our Saviour (Bells will call the people together)

 

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Hymn 9 - “Not here for high and holy things”

Movement into new life - Transition into the time of the resurrection Margaret Bullitt-Jones (see handout)

A Call to Action: “...but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” Steve Blackmer and Stephanie Johnson (see handout)

Relaxing and Visiting

Dinner

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Saturday Evening - The Great Vigil

About the Great Vigil: Marking the beginning of Resurrection joy with the kindling of a new fire, the Great Vigil of Easter commences the turning of darkness to light through recounting the saving acts of God in history and the breaking forth of Alleluias. In the face of Earth’s distress, the Pilgrimage Vigil celebrates the hope we have in the God-given capacity of both humanity and Earth to be transformed and healed.

Gather at Church of our SaviourThe Right Reverend Rob Hirschfeld, Bishop of New Hampshire, will celebrate. Opening Music - Ensemble Zephyrus, accompanied by Didgeridoo and Shakuhachi Flute

Earth Song Frank Ticheli Sicut Cervus Giovanni Palestrina Celebrant: We are pilgrims in the name of the Word, through whom all things came into being and without whom not one thing came into being. We are pilgrims in the name of the one in whom all things in the heavens and here on planet earth were created, things visible and invisible. We are pilgrims in the name of the cosmic Christ, the one in whom all things hold together. In darkness, fire is kindled, after which the Celebrant prays: Creator of all that is, through the lighting of this fire, may we recall how you are the source of all energy, of every spinning atom, of every living cell, of every pulsing heart, and every breathing being. Ignite now our passion for living as you intend: as wind-breath mud creatures who are grateful for the privilege of dwelling on this whirling, watered stone amidst the immensities of space. Grant us wisdom to treasure air and soil and water and to preserve their health and purity for the sake of all the fellow earth creatures with whom we share this planet. Thus may we honor the living Christ and give glory to you

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in whom all things live and move and have their being. Amen. The Paschal Candle is then lighted from the newly kindled fire, and the liturgist bearing the Candle down the aisle pauses three times to intone: Light from whom all light is drawn: the light of the galaxies and the stars, the light of knowledge and wisdom, the light that shone in Jesus Christ. Enlighten our hearts with love for your whole creation. The Paschal Candle is placed on a stand. A cantor intones an Exsultet for creation. First the wind upon the water as the formless sea is stirred, then the source and core of being speaks the potent primal word: Let there be light, let there be sky, let there be land and living things, each according to its kind having fins or hoofs or wings. Let the multitude of images in all your creatures shine with the hidden, holy likeness of the one who is divine. First the gathering of matter in explosive densities whose compacted masses scatter through the vast immensities: Then waves of light that strike the earth and rains and winds and thunderstorms turn the dust we share with stars to a host of living forms. Thus the generating processes of atoms, suns and cells waken that same sense of wonder that the ancient Scripture tells. First the wind upon the water, first the starry cosmic flame, then the word of the creator working in the human frame: Let there be love, let there be grace, let health and peace and justice rise, let your science feed your faith and your knowledge make you wise. Center all your aims and purposes in what this world displays:

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that the source and core of being calls for everlasting praise.* Celebrant Holy God, accept our evening sacrifice, the offering of this candle in your honor. May Christ, the light of lights, the Morning Star who knows no setting, and who gives his light to all creation, burn brightly through the way we treat all that you have entrusted to our care. Amen.

The Liturgy of the Word Genesis 1:1-2:2 - The Biblical Story of Creation In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day and the darkness he called Night. And there was the evening and there was morning, the first day. And God said, “Let there be a dome in the midst of the waters, and let us separate the waters from the waters.” So God made the dome and separated the waters that were under the dome from the waters that were above the dome. And it was so. God called the dome Sky. And there was evening and there was morning, the second day. And God said, “Let the waters under the sky be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so. God called the dry land Earth, and the waters that were gathered together he called Seas. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let the earth put forth vegetation: plants yielding seed, and fruit trees of every kind on earth that bear fruit with the seed in it.” And it was so. the earth brought forth vegetation: plants yielding seed of every kind, and trees of every kind bearing fruit with the seed in it. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the third day. And God said, “Let there be lights in the dome of the sky to separate the day from the night; and let them be for signs and for seasons and for days and years, and let them be lights in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth.” And it was so. God made the two great lights - the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night - and the stars. God set them in the dome of the sky to give light upon the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day. And God said, “Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures, and let birds fly above the earth across the dome of the sky.” So God created the great sea monsters and every living creature that moves, of every kind, with which the waters swarm, and every winged bird of every kind. And God saw that it was good. God blessed them, saying, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the waters in the seas, and let birds multiply on the earth.” And there was evening and there was morning, the fifth day. And God said, “Let the earth bring forth living creatures of every kind: cattle and creeping things and wild animals of the earth of every kind.” And it was so. God made the wild animals of the earth of every kind, and the cattle of every kind, and everything that creeps upon the ground of every kind. And God saw that it was good. Then God said, “Let us make humankind in our own image, according to our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the wild animals of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon

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the earth. So God created humankind in his image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth and subdue it; and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.” God said, ‘See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. And to every beast of the earth, and to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, everything that has the breath of life, I have given every green plant for food.” And it was so. God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all their multitude. And on the seventh day God finished the work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all the work that he had done. Hymn 371 - “Thou, Whose Almighty Word” Liturgist O God, who twisted and twirled from star dust, sea foam and sunlight the first cells of life, grant that we may align how we live day by day with the vital processes of creation that breathe through your Spirit and flow from the living Christ. Amen. Genesis 7: 1-5, 11-18, 8: 6-18, 9: 8-17 - The Flood Then the Lord said to Noah, “Go into the ark, you and all your household, for I have seen that you alone are righteous before me in this generation. Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and its mate; and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and its mate; and seven pairs of the birds of the air also, male and female, to keep their kind alive on the face of all the earth. For in seven days I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights; and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.” And Noah did all that the Lord had commanded him. In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. On the very same day Noah and his sons, Shem and Ham and Japeth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons entered the ark, they and every wild animal of every kind, and all domestic animals of every kind, and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth, and every bird of every kind - every bird, every winged creature. They went into the ark with Noah, two and two of all flesh in which there was the breath of life. And those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut him in. The flood continued forty days on the earth; and the waters increased, and bore up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. The waters swelled and increased greatly on the earth; and the ark floated on the face of the waters. At the end of the forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made and sent out the raven; and it went to and fro until the waters were dried up from the earth. Then he sent out the dove from him, to see if the waters had subsided from the face of the ground; but the dove found no place to set its foot, and it returned to him to the ark, for the waters were still on the face of the whole earth. So he put out his hand and took it and brought it into the ark with him. He waited another seven days, and again he sent out the dove from the ark; and the dove came back to him in the evening, and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf; so Noah knew that the waters had subsided from the earth. Then he waited another seven days, and sent out the dove; and it did not return to him any more. In the six hundred first year, in the first month, on the first day of the month, the waters were dried up from the earth; and Noah removed the covering of the ark, and looked, and saw that the face of the ground was drying. In the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry. Then God said

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to Noah, “Go out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons and your sons’ wives with you. Bring out with you every living thing that is with you of all flesh - birds and animals and every creeping thing that creeps on the earth - so that they may abound on the earth and be fruitful and multiply on the earth.” So Noah went out with his sons and his wife and his son’s wives. Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him, “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants after you, and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the domestic animals, and every animal of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark. I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: I have set my bow in the clouds, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.” Liturgist Almighty God, you have placed in the skies the sign of your covenant with all living things never again to destroy them again with a great flood. Grant that we may be as gracious to this planet and not destroy it with our profligate abuse of its resources. Amen.

O Lux Beata - Ensemble Zephyrus Tomas Luis de Vittoria Ezekiel 37: 1-14 - A New Heart and a New Spirit The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all around them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, “Mortal, can these bones live?” I answered, “O Lord God, you know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.” So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.” I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude. Then he said to me, “Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.’ Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.” Liturgist O God of resurrection and new life, may the irrepressible resilience of the divine vitalities spring up in our hearts as a commitment to securing the life of creatures that we are threatening with extinction. Amen.

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Chiostri Altissimi - Ensemble Zephyrus with African drum Emilio de Cavalieri HomilyRev. Dr. Thomas Troeger The Renewal of Baptismal Vows Liturgist Do you affirm your renunciation of modes of life that harm God’s creation and thus renew your commitment to the living Christ, the Christ of the cosmos. I do Do you believe in God, the source of every good and perfect gift. I believe in God, creator of the suns and galaxies and the planets, including this our island home, earth. Do you believe in Jesus Christ, the Word through whom all things were made and in whom all things hold together. I believe in Christ the living word, who was born like us, a creature of earth, who depended as we do upon the nurture of air and soil and water, who suffered and was unjustly executed, but who lives and calls us to honor God’s creation as he did through his parables of soil and seed, plowing and reaping, sunshine and rain, pruning and tending. Do you believe in God the Holy Spirit. I believe in the Spirit, who stirs the motion of living cells and gives breath and pulse to all creatures, and guides us in the ways that lead to forgiveness and new life. Will you continue in the apostles’ teaching, and in the ways of breaking bread and praying that draw you into harmony with God’s creation? I will, with God’s help. Will you persevere in resisting evil,

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especially action that threatens the web of life, and whenever you fail, will you repent and return to the life-giving ways of the Creator? I will, with God’s help. Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons and in all the creatures and elements that are held together through his being? I will, with God’s help. Will you strive for justice and peace among all the inhabitants of planet earth, respecting the existence of all species? I will, with God’s help. May the Creator of all that is, whose child is Jesus Christ, and who has given us a new birth by water and the Holy Spirit, and bestowed upon us the forgiveness of sins, may this wondrous God keep us faithful to our promises for the care of Earth so that as we spend our brief days upon this planet our lives may be aligned with the love and grace that are from everlasting to everlasting. Amen. Celebrant Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. The Celebrant continues: The Lord be with you. And also with you. Let us pray. The Epistle Colossians 1: 15-17 Christ Jesus is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers—all things have been created through him and for him. He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Hymn 204 - “Now the Green Blade Riseth” The Gospel John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people.

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The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness to testify to the light, so that all might believe through him. He himself was not the light, but he came to testify to the light. The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him. He came to what was his own, and his own people did not accept him. But to all who received him, who believed in his name, he gave power to become children of God, who were born, not of blood or of the will of the flesh or of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth. The Peace - offering one another a sign of Christ’s peace and love Offerings

Hymn - “Touch the Earth Lightly” (see insert) Text by Shirley Erena Murray At the Eucharist The Lord be with you. And also with you. Lift up your hearts. We lift them up to the Lord. Let us give thanks to the Lord our God. It is right to give our thanks and praise. All thanks and praise are yours at all times and in all places, our true and loving God. Through Jesus Christ, your eternal Word, you created all things. You laid the foundations of the world and enclosed the sea when it burst out from the womb; you brought forth all creatures of the earth and gave breath to humankind. Wondrous are you, Holy One of Blessing, all you create is a sign of hope for our journey; and so as the morning stars sing your praises we join the heavenly beings and all creation as we sing for joy: Leader and People Holy, holy, holy Lord, God of power and might, heaven and earth are full of your glory, Hosanna in the highest, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, Hosanna in the highest. The Leader continues Glory and honor are yours, Creator of all, your Word has never been silent; you called a people to yourself, as a light to the nations, you delivered them from bondage and led them to a land of promise. Your Word in Jesus became a creature of earth to share our life, to proclaim the coming of your reign

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and to give himself for us. Through Christ you have freed us from sin, brought us into your life, and reconciled us to you. We thank you that on the night before he died Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks to you, he broke it, gave to his friends and said: “Take, eat, this is my Body, broken for you. Do this for the remembrance of me.” After supper Jesus took the cup of wine, said the blessing, gave it to his friends and said: “Drink this, all of you: this cup is the New Covenant in my Blood, poured out for you and for all for the forgiveness of sin. Do this for the remembrance of me.” And so we remember all that Christ has done for us and for the whole creation: being the Word through whom all things were made, becoming flesh and living among us, healing, teaching and feeding us, dying on the cross, rising from the tomb, and ascending in glory. As we long for Christ coming in glory, we pray for wisdom to renew this planet. We present to you these gifts that your earth has formed and human hands have made, and we make this acclimation of faith: Dying, you destroyed our death. Rising, you restored our life. Christ Jesus, come in glory! Send your Holy Spirit upon the whole creation, upon us and upon these gifts of bread and wine that they may be to us the Body and Blood of your Christ. Grant that we, burning with your Spirit’s power, may be a people who treat all you have made with justice, and love. Giver of Life, teach us to touch the earth lightly. Draw us together in the Body of Christ, and in the fullness of time gather us into the joy of our true eternal home. Through Christ and with Christ and in Christ, by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, we worship you our God and Creator in voices of unending praise. Blessed are you now and for ever. Amen. The Lord’s Prayer (From the New Zealand Book of Common Prayer) Eternal Spirit, Earth-maker, Pain-bearer, Life-giver, Source of all that is and that shall be, Father and Mother of us all,

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Loving God, in whom is heaven: The hallowing of your name echo through the universe! The way of your justice be followed by the peoples of the world! Your heavenly will be done by all created beings! Your commonwealth of peace and freedom sustain our hope and come on earth. With the bread we need for today, feed us. In the hurts we absorb from one another, forgive us. In times of temptation and testing, strengthen us. From trials too great to endure, spare us. From the grip of all that is evil, free us. For you reign in the glory of the power that is love, now and for ever. Amen. The Fraction Anthem Post Communion Prayer Gracious God, you have given us much this day: the wheat and grapes for our feast, the wit and will to transform them into bread and wine, and the precious presence of your Son who transfigures and redeems all that we have broken and lost. Send us out now to care for this fragile earth, our island home. Give us the wit and will to transform the toxic, irreverent ways we live, and grant us the guidance of your Son Jesus Christ who goes before us and calls us into this world you love. To him, to you, and to the Holy Spirit be honor and glory, now and forever. Amen. The Blessing: May you be a new creation, who embodies the love of Christ to your fellow earth creatures and to the water, soil and air that sustain your life, and the blessing of God our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier be amongst you and with you always. Amen. Hymn - “How Miniscule this Planet” Thomas H. Troeger How miniscule this planet amidst the stars and night: a mote that floats in vastness, mere dust that catches light, yet, God, you count of value – of boundless, precious worth – all creatures who inhabit this tiny, mite-sized earth. Together faith and science extend what we can see

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and amplify our wonder at all you bring to be: how energy and matter have coalesced in space as consciousness and meaning, and hearts that yearn for grace, And from that wonder blossoms a wonder that exceeds the reach of human dreaming for meeting earth’s deep needs: the Christ in whom all matter, all energies cohere, is born upon this planet and dwelling with us here. By Christ we are connected to every shining star, to every atom spinning, to all the things that are, and to your very being, around, below, above, suffusing each dimension with light and life and love. Sending Forth to Heal the World Postlude

Celebrant: The Right Rev. Robert Hirschfeld, Episcopal Bishop of New Hampshire Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Thomas Troeger

Assisting Clergy: The Rev. Stephen Blackmer, The Rev. Norman MacLeod Ensemble Zephyrus Director: Lindsey Warren

Shakuhachi flute: Robert Jonas African drum: Sayon Camara Didgeridoo: Joseph Carringer Trumpet: Samantha Glazier

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Sunday - Resurrection! About Easter Sunday: The Pilgrimage culminates in a Sunday morning celebration of the Resurrection. In Christian theology, the day of Christ’s rising marks a new Creation and every Sunday is an Easter morning. This Sunday at St. Thomas of Hanover, NH, we will hear glorious music and a proclamation that God is with us to overcome the chaos of Earth’s devolution at human hands. On this day we celebrate the hope of Easter in our work of renewing the Earth. Gathering at St. Thomas

Prelude: Allegro from Trumpet Concerto Haydn

Hymn 400 - “All Creatures of our God and King” Lasst uns erfreuen Celebrant Alleluia. Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed. Alleluia. Welcome Gloria in excelsis from Mass in G Schubert The Collect Almighty God, you have built your Church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone: Grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching, that we may be made a holy temple acceptable to you; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. First Lesson: Jeremiah 28: 5-9 Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord; and the prophet Jeremiah said, “Amen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord fulfill the words that you have prophesied, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. But listen now to this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. The prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. As for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes true, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

Hymn 593 - “Lord Make Us Servants of Your Peace” Dickinson College Second Lesson: Romans 6: 12-23 Therefore, do not let sin exercise dominion in your mortal bodies, to make you obey their passions. No longer present your members to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and present your members to God as instruments of righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. What then? Should we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to

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anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that you, having once been slaves of sin, have become obedient from the heart to the form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and that you, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to greater and greater iniquity, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness for sanctification. When you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. So what advantage did you then get from the things of which you now are ashamed? The end of those things is death. But now that you have been freed from sin and enslaved to God, the advantage you get is sanctification. The end is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Gradual Hymn: “Above the Moon Earth Rises” Thomas Troeger First two verses, sung to Kingsfold Above the moon earth rises, a sunlit mossy stone, a garden that God prizes where life has richly grown, an emerald selected for us to guard with care, an isle in space protected by one thin reef of air. The mossy stone is grieving, its tears are bitter rain, the garden is unleaving and all its harvests wane, the emerald is clouded, its luster dims and fades, the isle of life is shrouded in thick and stagnant haze. Gospel: Matthew 10: 40-42 Whoever welcomes you welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward; and whoever welcomes a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive the reward of the righteous; and whoever gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones in the name of a disciple—truly I tell you, none of these will lose their reward. Gradual Hymn Last two verses, sung to Kingsfold O listen to the sighing of water, sky and land and hear the Spirit crying the future is at hand. The moss and garden thinning portend a death or birth, the end or new beginning for all that lives on earth.

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A death if hearts now harden, a birth if we repent and tend and keep the garden as God has always meant: to sow without abusing the soil where life is grown, to reap without our bruising this sunlit mossy stone. HomilyThe Rev. Dr. Thomas Troeger The Nicene Creed - BCP p. 358 Intercessions for Creation Let us ask the God of creation to send a blessing upon us. Upon the rich earth send a blessing, O Lord. Let the earth be fruitful and its resources be hallowed. We ask in faith: we ask you to hear us, good Lord. Upon human labour send a blessing, O Lord. Prosper the work of our hands; may all find dignity and just reward in their work; free the exploited and oppressed. We ask in faith: we ask you to hear us, good Lord. Upon the produce of the earth send a blessing, O Lord. Guide us into a sustainable future, and give us the will to share the fruits of the world. We ask in faith: we ask you to hear us, good Lord. Upon the seas and waters send a blessing, O Lord. Teach us to cherish the water of the earth, and to conserve the seas, lakes and rivers. We ask in faith: we ask you to hear us, good Lord. Upon aid agencies send a blessing, O Lord. Where the earth is parched and the well has run dry; where war brings want, and children go hungry; where the poor cry out for bread and for justice, give hands to care and heal, and compel us to be generous. We ask in faith: we ask you to hear us, good Lord. We ask you to hear us, good Lord, for the sake of your Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen.

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The Confession

Merciful and sustaining God, we have sinned against you. We confess our lack of gratitude for the beauty and bounty of your creation: teach us to see that your earth sustains us and all that lives. We confess that we have misused your earth: grant us amendment of life. We confess that we have been intemperate in our appetites: strengthen us in self-control. We confess that we have taken the abundance of your world for granted: make us urgent now for its protection. Forgive and renew us now through our Savior Jesus Christ, by the power of the Holy Spirit, with whom you live and reign, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Absolution The Peace

Offertory Anthem: “The Heavens are Telling” Haydn, from The Creation The Great Thanksgiving - Eucharistic Prayer C, BCP p. 369

Sanctus & Agnus Dei Schubert From Mass in G

Communion Motet - “I Will Not Leave You Comfortless” Byrd

Hymn 459 - “And Have the Bright Immensities” Halifax Postcommunion Prayer

Hymn 207 - “Jesus Christ is Risen Today” Easter Hymn Postlude

Celebrant: The Rev. Dr. Guy J. D. Collins Preacher: The Rev. Dr. Thomas Troeger

Assisting Clergy: The Rev. Dr. Carol Jeunnette,The Rev. Stephen Blackmer, The Rev. Norman MacLeod

Organist: Peter Beardsley Choir Conductor: Dr. Robert Duff

Trumpeter: Samantha Glazier Joint Choirs of St. Thomas, Hanover, New Hampshire and St. James, Woodstock, Vermont

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AttributionsThursday:Troeger, Thomas H. “As Trees that Withstand the Wind’s Shaking”. Copyright © Oxford University Press, 1994.

Berry, Wendell. “Manifesto: The Mad Farmer Liberation Front.” The Country of Marriage. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973.

Friday:The prayers following spoken meditations (except for after the Fifth Word) come from Propers for the Honoring of Creation from the Liturgical Materials Honoring God in Creation proposed at the 2012 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. http://eenonline.org/reflect/liturgy/propers/propers.htm.

Berry, Wendell. A Timbered Choir: The Sabbath Poems, 1979-1997. Washington, D.C.: Counterpoint, 1998.·1988, II, p. 98, “It is the destruction of the world…”·1989, I, p. 105, “In early morning we awaken from…”·1989, VII, p. 110, “Here by the road where the people are carried…”·1997, II and III, p. 208-210, “Even while I dreamed… and I was wakened…”

Saturday:“Glory and honor are yours, Creator of all, your Word has never been silent…” Adapted from: Enriching Our Worship 1: Morning and Evening Prayer, the Great Litany, the Holy Eucharist: Supplemental Liturgical Materials. New York: Church Incorporated, 1997. pp. 62-65

Post Communion Prayer “Gracious God, you have given us much this day: the wheat and grapes for our feast…” Adapted from: In Celebration of Creation. St. Thomas, Medina, WA

Troeger, Thomas H. “How Miniscule this Planet.” Copyright © Oxford University Press, 2011.

Sunday:Troeger, Thomas H. “Above the Moon Earth Rises.” Copyright © Oxford University Press, 1994. Prayer beginning “Let us ask the God of Creation..,” from Times and Seasons, Church House Publishing, London, ©The Archbishops’ Council 2006. Confession from Liturgical Materials Honoring God in Creation proposed at the 2012 General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

About St. James (www.stjameswoodstock.org): Established on the green in Woodstock, Vermont in 1827, St. James is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Vermont, a part of the world-wide Anglican Communion. We are a community of people who come together to worship God in the Episcopal tradition. Through Jesus Christ, and in unity with the Holy Spirit, we seek renewal and growth as we worship God, serve each other and serve our wider community. St. James is the spiritual home of a devoted group of parishioners. We value our time together in worship and in our daily lives. All people are welcome at St. James and we strive to ensure that all who join us will be warmly welcomed About Kairos Earth & Church of the Woods (kairosearth.org): Kairos is an ancient Greek word meaning “time” in the sense of IT IS TIME. Or, the time has come. Kairos is about Earth, the home (so far as we know) of all life in the universe, much of which has been tragically diminished by human beings. Kairos is about People, who are both the cause and possible cure of these harms. Kairos is about Transformation that all people may live in greater harmony with Earth and with each other. Kairos Earth is a non-profit organization and network of people dedicated to reawakening a religious sensibility as part of protecting Earth and all her creatures. In a time when so much of Nature is threatened with destruction by human activity, it is only natural that a new church should be a Church of the Woods. Church of the Woods is a single, specific place, located on 106 acres of logged and-recovering woods and wetlands in rural Canterbury, NH. This local incarnation is both Episcopal and ecumenical, both Christian and multi-faith, and devoted to both God and Earth. It is also any place in the natural world where people experience and prayerfully enter into relationship with the Divine Spirit. Rev. Dr. Thomas Troeger, J. Edward and Ruth Cox Lantz Professor of Christian Communication, Yale Divinity School, has written twenty books in the fields of preaching, poetry, hymnody and worship, is a frequent contributor to journals dedicated to these topics, and is a monthly columnist for Lectionary Homiletics and The American Organist. His most recent books include Wonder Reborn: Preaching on Hymns, Music and Poetry; God, You Made All Things for Singing: Hymn texts, anthems, and poems for a new millennium; So that All Might Know: Preaching that Engages the Whole Congregation (with Edward Everding); Preaching While the Church Is Under Reconstruction; Above the Moon Earth Rises: Hymn Texts, Anthems and Poems for a New Creation.